Movies: Scream

Wes Craven was on the ropes commercially in the early '90s, after the blockbuster success of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" series in the previous decade. That all changed with "Scream," which became a huge box office draw:



The plot is familiar on purpose. A killer is stalking the students at a high school, and it's up to the protagonist and her friends to scream and run in entertaining fashion. The catch here is that many of the characters are aware of horror movie cliches, though this doesn't mean they don't fall into them (as the opening scene demonstrates).

The most curious thing about "Scream" is that for anyone versed in Wes Craven's other works, this isn't a very good horror movie. It doesn't scare you, it doesn't gross you out (even with an R rating, the film is tame by modern standards), and it certainly doesn't build up tension very effectively.

Rating (as a self-aware comedy parodying or horror pastiche): 6/10

Rating (as an actual horror film): 3/10

P.S. - If you want to see Craven do the postmodern horror route (albeit with slower pacing), I recommend 1994's "New Nightmare." The scene where Heather Langenkamp gets surprised by Robert Englund dressed in a Freddy costume is hilarious and creepy all at the same time.